Tibet: end the blackout
Dear friends,
| Tibetans fighting the Chinese government's blackout are cut off from the rest of the world. |
Without our immediate support, those who are cutting vital holes in the censorship curtain won't be able to alert the global media or other Tibetans to disappearances and the denial of human rights. Open communication is the best insurance to prevent future infringements from taking place.
Donate today, and help ensure that the flow of information so critical to the Tibetan people isn't shut off completely:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/tibet_stop_the_blackout
A modest donation can have a major impact:
- For $90 we can fund transmission of an entire hour of the Voices of Tibet radio network, which provides unbiased news across the Tibetan plateau
- $25 each from just 100 of us will support a new technology program that allows Tibetans to avoid censorship and safely communicate their plight with the world and each other
- For $100 from 100 of us, we can help upgrade a radio transmitter just over the border in India, so that it can broadcast deeper into Tibet and China for one month.
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/tibet_stop_the_blackout
The situation is dire, and some reports suggest it's getting worse. The Chinese government has even cut phone networks to hinder grassroots organizing efforts by Tibetans and blocked their contact to the outside world – including to Chinese progressives. If we don't help Tibetans access new technologies that can breach the communications blockade, their plight could be silenced behind an impenetrable firewall.
Radio stations, bloggers, censorship avoidance technologies are like fog-lights out of the dark - and vital to the survival of the Tibetan people. Here is what the Dalai Lama says about Voice of Tibet radio – which your support today can help keep on the air:
"This is the only radio service in [the] Tibetan language with a Tibetan editorial board in charge allowing us [Tibetans] to comment on events of Tibetan interest from our perspective.... I would appreciate [...] if sympathetic organizations and individuals could help Voice of Tibet continue functioning..."
Donate today and help keep critical programs like this one alive – they've never been more urgently needed:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/tibet_stop_the_blackout
Freedom of information is vital to the survival of Tibetan culture and a key ingredient in securing Tibetan autonomy. It is also a key way to reach out to progressive Chinese in China, many of whom are looking for alternative perspectives and information. As a global community, we can help ensure access to vital information for Tibetans, Chinese and those of us who are beyond the veil.
With hope,
Brett, Ricken, Alice, Paul, Graziela, Ben, Paula, Luis, Pascal, Veronique, Iain, Milena and the rest of the Avaaz team
P.S. Consider donating to support organizations like Voice of Tibet at this crucial time. They need our support now more than ever. Even a modest donation will go a long way: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/tibet_stop_the_blackout
A year of escalating violence:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA17/011/2009/en
http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/china-amnesty-international-calls-chinese-authorities-open-tibet-2009030
UN Committee Against Torture Report covering the 2008 protests. Relevant section is pages 8-10:
www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/CAT.C.CHN.CO.4.pdf
Human Rights Watch report detailing those unaccounted for:
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/03/09/china-hundreds-tibetan-detainees-and-prisoners-unaccounted
Reports of increased violence across Tibet to 2009:
http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/ict-press-releases/a-great-mountain-burned-fire-chinas-crackdown-tibet
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